2013 Electric Drive "Brake Failure" display - smart USA insider2015-03-31T20:51:39Zhttp://www.smartusainsider.com/forum/topics/2013-electric-drive-brake-failure-display?commentId=2029424%3AComment%3A651518&feed=yes&xn_auth=noWe just had another problem w…tag:www.smartusainsider.com,2015-03-30:2029424:Comment:6702792015-03-30T22:05:44.028ZManfred Kopischhttp://www.smartusainsider.com/profile/ManfredKopisch
<p>We just had another problem with our Smart ED. This time it turned itself completely off - while driving!!! Luckily it was only in a residential area going around 25 mph with no one behind us. That is unbelievable dangerous and I wonder what could have happened on the freeway at 65 mph. The display showed <strong>Drive Sys. – Engine off</strong></p>
<p>The car is now with the dealer. Today no one in the service department was available to look at it. I won't be surprised if it is again a…</p>
<p>We just had another problem with our Smart ED. This time it turned itself completely off - while driving!!! Luckily it was only in a residential area going around 25 mph with no one behind us. That is unbelievable dangerous and I wonder what could have happened on the freeway at 65 mph. The display showed <strong>Drive Sys. – Engine off</strong></p>
<p>The car is now with the dealer. Today no one in the service department was available to look at it. I won't be surprised if it is again a problem with the fuse box. This time they won't be able to blame it on us - as we are diligent about never transporting any fluids in our Smart. We will see ... Last time they charged us close to $400 to fix their design problem. I have a suspicion that it was not fixed but they only replaced corroded parts that are now again corroded - and it is just another fuse that shut something off. Last time the brakes and this time the engine.</p>
<p>We now have lost trust in the car and don't feel safe in it. We will have to work with MB to end the lease. At best our car is a lemon - at worst the car design is faulty and puts its drivers at unacceptable risks.</p>
<p>Manfred</p> Hi all,
I just got my ED back…tag:www.smartusainsider.com,2015-01-28:2029424:Comment:6672112015-01-28T19:06:26.362ZFrédéric Chamberlandhttp://www.smartusainsider.com/profile/FredericChamberland
<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I just got my ED back from Mercedes dealer : I have experienced the exact same problem as everyone else : corrosion on the contacts to the vacuum pump. The dealer replaced the parts and made some design change: "PERFORMED A SMALL HOLE IN BATTERY TRAY, INSTALLED GROMENT, INSTALLED NEW FUSE HOLDER AND CONNECTORS 60A / 40A ,RETAPED HARNESS, RELOCATED FUSES AWAY FROM BOTTOM OF TRAY. </p>
<p>So there you go, my car is ok now but I don't trust it anymore, I pay a lot of attention to…</p>
<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I just got my ED back from Mercedes dealer : I have experienced the exact same problem as everyone else : corrosion on the contacts to the vacuum pump. The dealer replaced the parts and made some design change: "PERFORMED A SMALL HOLE IN BATTERY TRAY, INSTALLED GROMENT, INSTALLED NEW FUSE HOLDER AND CONNECTORS 60A / 40A ,RETAPED HARNESS, RELOCATED FUSES AWAY FROM BOTTOM OF TRAY. </p>
<p>So there you go, my car is ok now but I don't trust it anymore, I pay a lot of attention to buzzing signals/dash warnings. I made an official complaint to Canada's Transport dept (our NHTSA) (thanks to jwight for the cue) </p>
<p>And I made it clear with the service rep that was a real problem and he told me it did go up to Mercedes head offices in Toronto.</p>
<p>Now let's see if that problem will end up a recall, I would not be surprised.</p>
<p>Anyone with the same problem SHOULD write to NHTSA or Transport Canada : it's our first line of fire and probably a much better than just letting the dealer know about it. It takes about 6 minutes to fill the info.</p>
<p>Cheers,</p>
<p></p>
<p>Frederic</p>
<p> </p>
<p></p> First step would be to report…tag:www.smartusainsider.com,2015-01-23:2029424:Comment:6673702015-01-23T19:48:10.351Zjwighthttp://www.smartusainsider.com/profile/jwight
<p>First step would be to report the failures to the NHTSA folks. <a href="https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/index.xhtml" target="_blank">https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/index.xhtml</a><br></br> <br></br> <cite>Manfred Kopisch said:…</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://www.smartusainsider.com/forum/topics/2013-electric-drive-brake-failure-display?commentId=2029424%3AComment%3A667190&amp;xg_source=msg_com_forum#2029424Comment667190"></blockquote>
<p>First step would be to report the failures to the NHTSA folks. <a href="https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/index.xhtml" target="_blank">https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/index.xhtml</a><br/> <br/> <cite>Manfred Kopisch said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://www.smartusainsider.com/forum/topics/2013-electric-drive-brake-failure-display?commentId=2029424%3AComment%3A667190&amp;xg_source=msg_com_forum#2029424Comment667190"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Great to hear that you - like Jonathan - got this repaired under warranty! Too bad they made me pay almost $400 for repairing/exchanging the corroded parts.</p>
<p>The main question though is the one of safety. How come these parts corrode? Moisture seems to have been the reason with Johnathan's and my Smart. What caused it in your Smart? How come the result of that corrosion is such a dramatic sudden failure of the brakes? What can Mercedes do to protect their customers from this safety issue?</p>
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</blockquote> Great to hear that you - like…tag:www.smartusainsider.com,2015-01-23:2029424:Comment:6671902015-01-23T19:43:56.067ZManfred Kopischhttp://www.smartusainsider.com/profile/ManfredKopisch
<p>Great to hear that you - like Jonathan - got this repaired under warranty! Too bad they made me pay almost $400 for repairing/exchanging the corroded parts.</p>
<p>The main question though is the one of safety. How come these parts corrode? Moisture seems to have been the reason with Johnathan's and my Smart. What caused it in your Smart? How come the result of that corrosion is such a dramatic sudden failure of the brakes? What can Mercedes do to protect their customers from this safety…</p>
<p>Great to hear that you - like Jonathan - got this repaired under warranty! Too bad they made me pay almost $400 for repairing/exchanging the corroded parts.</p>
<p>The main question though is the one of safety. How come these parts corrode? Moisture seems to have been the reason with Johnathan's and my Smart. What caused it in your Smart? How come the result of that corrosion is such a dramatic sudden failure of the brakes? What can Mercedes do to protect their customers from this safety issue?</p> Ok, dealer found some corrosi…tag:www.smartusainsider.com,2015-01-23:2029424:Comment:6670932015-01-23T15:55:46.163ZFrédéric Chamberlandhttp://www.smartusainsider.com/profile/FredericChamberland
<p>Ok, dealer found some corrosion on vacuum pump connectors. Waiting for parts. </p>
<p>All under warranty . Strangest thing is they found no water/humidity where the connectors are located. They are going to replace them , I asked if they were "protecting" the new connectors with some housing/grease.... They could not answer right away , they will receive the parts next week.</p>
<p>I still will have a good talk with the dealer when the car is repaired and ready to go back on the…</p>
<p>Ok, dealer found some corrosion on vacuum pump connectors. Waiting for parts. </p>
<p>All under warranty . Strangest thing is they found no water/humidity where the connectors are located. They are going to replace them , I asked if they were "protecting" the new connectors with some housing/grease.... They could not answer right away , they will receive the parts next week.</p>
<p>I still will have a good talk with the dealer when the car is repaired and ready to go back on the road. </p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who chimed in . Will let you know the extent of the repairs when all is done.</p>
<p></p>
<p>F</p> There is when this failure oc…tag:www.smartusainsider.com,2015-01-22:2029424:Comment:6670882015-01-22T14:25:55.595ZJonathan Gourdhttp://www.smartusainsider.com/profile/JonathanGourd
<p>There is when this failure occurs. Otherwise I would have hit the back of my garage.</p>
<p>There is when this failure occurs. Otherwise I would have hit the back of my garage.</p> There is a brake force vacuum…tag:www.smartusainsider.com,2015-01-22:2029424:Comment:6673632015-01-22T04:03:17.642Zjwighthttp://www.smartusainsider.com/profile/jwight
<p>There is a brake force vacuum pump listed under fuses in the owners manual. However, as on the ICE cars, even if the power brake booster fails there should be hydraulic braking available. <br></br> <br></br> <cite>Jonathan Gourd said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://www.smartusainsider.com/forum/topics/2013-electric-drive-brake-failure-display?commentId=2029424%3AComment%3A667362&amp;xg_source=activity#2029424Comment667362"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Think about it. There is…</p>
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<p>There is a brake force vacuum pump listed under fuses in the owners manual. However, as on the ICE cars, even if the power brake booster fails there should be hydraulic braking available. <br/> <br/> <cite>Jonathan Gourd said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://www.smartusainsider.com/forum/topics/2013-electric-drive-brake-failure-display?commentId=2029424%3AComment%3A667362&amp;xg_source=activity#2029424Comment667362"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Think about it. There is probably an electric pump for the brakes.</p>
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</blockquote> Think about it. There is prob…tag:www.smartusainsider.com,2015-01-21:2029424:Comment:6673622015-01-21T23:01:08.987ZJonathan Gourdhttp://www.smartusainsider.com/profile/JonathanGourd
<p>Think about it. There is probably an electric pump for the brakes.</p>
<p>Think about it. There is probably an electric pump for the brakes.</p> Would be interested to hear h…tag:www.smartusainsider.com,2015-01-21:2029424:Comment:6672512015-01-21T19:38:29.294Zjwighthttp://www.smartusainsider.com/profile/jwight
<p>Would be interested to hear how this is resolved. Are the brakes (other than regen) different than the ICE cars? If you look on SCoA you'll find several threads on the ICE cars being immobilized when/if the brake lights switch (located within the brake module) fails. No brake lights, the car will not let you drive off. There must be a different failure mode for the ED that somehow bypasses that safety feature....? </p>
<p>PS - smart must have seen a reason to go from a floor mounted brake…</p>
<p>Would be interested to hear how this is resolved. Are the brakes (other than regen) different than the ICE cars? If you look on SCoA you'll find several threads on the ICE cars being immobilized when/if the brake lights switch (located within the brake module) fails. No brake lights, the car will not let you drive off. There must be a different failure mode for the ED that somehow bypasses that safety feature....? </p>
<p>PS - smart must have seen a reason to go from a floor mounted brake assembly to a suspended brake assembly on the new 453 cars....</p> My dealer covered it.tag:www.smartusainsider.com,2015-01-21:2029424:Comment:6670842015-01-21T19:02:02.721ZJonathan Gourdhttp://www.smartusainsider.com/profile/JonathanGourd
<p>My dealer covered it.</p>
<p>My dealer covered it.</p>